TMM: DanseiFujin
by Azzie-chan
Summary: Ichigo is a normal boy with a huge crush on Momo Aoyama, though every chance at getting her to like him back is crushed when a mad, albeit hot, scientsit turns him into a crossdressing superhero. And then, just when he thinks things can't get any worse...
1. Chapter 1

_**Foreword  
**I've finally returned! After much thought of maybe returning I've done it. Not only that, but I'm bringing sexy back! I mean TMM Dansei-Fujin. You know, that one fic I wrote where everyone in TMM swapped genders? Well, this is the new and improved version! It doesn't follow the storyline so closely and it might veer off completely later.  
So, I hope you enjoy it. If I ever call Ichigo 'Sutoro' ignore it. That's what his name was in the first version and sometimes I type that by mistake. xx _

**(the first chapter)**

Leaning against the wall, Ichigo Momomiya gazed longingly over the pamphlet he was pretending to read at Momo Aoyama. She was talking with her friends about something that was making her smile. Ichigo loved that smile and wished he could make her smile like that. She was beautiful, with her straight, silky black locks that curled outwards as they reached her shoulders. Momo was small for her age of thirteen, but very cute with her round face and big brown eyes. Yes, those eyes... Those eyes that were... That were looking straight at Ichigo! Blushing he buried his nose in the pamphlet and shifted his position so that he was turned slightly away from the group.

As the sound of giggling faded he gained the courage to peer up over the edge of the paper again. They were gone. He looked around the room, a sense of panic hitting him like a blow to the chest. He was going to ask Momo out today! He couldn't lose her so easily! He took the hallway nearest to where he'd last seen Momo and her friends, praying that she'd be there. Turning sharply into the large, open room housing several exhibits featuring endangered species, Ichigo collided headlong with the object of his affection. They fell together onto the tiled floor. Thrusting his arms out in front of him, Ichigo managed to catch himself before dropping his full weight onto the small girl. He barely managed it and his head continued to move downwards until his lips met Momo's.

Ichigo thrust his head forcefully back, sat up and stumbled off of Momo. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Really! Honestly! I-" But Momo didn't seem to care about his excuses. She stood, too and walked over to him, taking his hand and examining it. Blinking, Ichigo looked down at his own hand. He'd cut it opened, probably on the edge of the counter they'd fallen next to.

"It's bleeding," Squeaked Momo, eyes widening as a blood trickled down the side of his hand, welling up and then dripping to the floor. "B- B- B- Bleeding..." She looked absolutely terrified and yet she couldn't take her eyes off the wound. Ichigo attempted to pull his hand away, but she had a pretty impressive grip, not to mention how tightly she was clinging onto his fingers, squeezing them painfully together.

"I'll get a handkerchief from someone, okay...?" When she did not react he pushed her chin upwards with his other hand, forcing her to look him in the eye. Despite how this made him blush, Ichigo continued. "Okay?"

Momo snapped to attention, her cheeks turning pink. "Oh! I have a handkerchief here... Somewhere..." And thus she began digging through her pockets, littering the floor with gum wrappers, buttons, papers, lint, coins and other objects that should have been detectable in Momo's tight jeans. "Um... Somewhere..."

"There is no need for that." The gallant voice belonged to a girl with black hair, similar to Momo's. The largest difference was that this girl's hair was shorter, reaching no more than an inch past her chin. She smiled, eyes twinkling and thrust a handkerchief in Ichigo's direction. He accepted it and tied it around his hand. Opening his mouth to thank the girl, she interrupted, "There is no need to thank me; I am here to serve the less fortunate." With that she turned, her skirt swinging as she did, and walked briskly away.

Ichigo looked down at the handkerchief, where in golden letters was marked the initials, 'MA'. It looked and felt expensive and silky, not the kind of handkerchief you use and throw away, which give him the impression that he would have to return it once he got his hands on a band-aid. The fact that little miss MA was gone also gave him the impression that this was a task much easier said than done. Speaking of girls... Ichigo looked up quickly to find that Momo had moved on, as if she'd completely forgotten about Ichigo. Heaving a sigh he glanced down at his hand and decided to forget about the whole thing for today. Sure, the guys would laugh and mock him but the thought of Momo made his lips tingle and face grow hot; he needed a break. Maybe tomorrow he'd try again.

He wandered around for a while before heading up to the restaurant on the museum's second floor. There was a window stretching from floor to ceiling that looked out over the forest and a sickeningly cute cafe on the other side. It was pink and vaguely resembled a cupcake. In short, it was the most disgusting building Ichigo had seen in his entire life. He turned away towards the cafeteria. It was a wide, round room with fast food joints lining the walls. For a Friday afternoon it was pretty empty; evidently most people had better things to do with their time (or knew of better museums).

In fact, there were only a couple people in the place at all. One boy with short green hair was blubbering out a long stream of apologies to two bigger boys lounging in a booth. The green haired one was tall, possibly taller than the seated boys, but he had to be about half their width. Then there was the girl from before ordering ramen and a blonde kid twitching impatiently and playing with her dress as he waited in line behind MA. Finally there was one boy with short purple hair. It was parted over one of his eyes so it fell in a way that half-hid the other one. He was tall, with an athletic build and had a cool, collected look to him. A little creepy, to be honest, thought Ichigo, looking away as the boy looked up from his drink.

Stepping forwards into the cafeteria, Ichigo suddenly felt the floor move beneath his feet. He fell forward, thrusting his arms out to catch himself but the floor seemed to fade away into blackness and before he knew it he was falling into nothing. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for impact. When it didn't come he slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was floating in a black abyss, the only light coming from a glowing object to his right. Turning, Ichigo found it to be a cat.

"Where am I?" He asked the thing, which seemed logical at the time. It meowed, as if to reply, and leaped forwards. Ichigo tried to move back, to get away, but his movements were delayed as if he was trying to swim through molasses. The cat reached his chest and sank into him. He gasped in shock, but a nice, warm feeling came over him. Wrapping his arms around his chest he smiled and let his eyes sink closed. So warm...

"Wake up! Momomiya-san..." His eyes fluttered opened and he found Momo kneeling beside him. Her friends stood around, watching anxiously. Slowly he sat up and blinked. He felt really, really funny. Looking around, Ichigo rubbed his eyes and smiled at Momo. She squealed excitedly and fell upon him, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. "You scared me!"

Ichigo was embarrassed, though he kind of liked knowing that Momo was worried about him. "I... It's okay. I'm sorry. I don't know what happened."

"You just fainted. Some others here did, too. It was probably some kind of ultrasonic noise only you can hear," Explained one of Momo's friends in a cold voice as she glared down at Ichigo.

"But that's no excuse for making Momo-chan worry!" Piped the other one, frowning deeply at Ichigo and placed her hands on her hips. "I say we punish him. What about you, Kami-chan?" She turned her blue gaze up to the other, taller friend of Momo.

Kami, the first one to have spoken, nodded in agreement and raised a hand to her face as she thought. "Yes," She said in her cold, cold monotone. "But the question is, how? We have to keep in mind that he kissed her, too." She sighed and moved her hand to brush her long brown hair off her shoulders. For a while all was quiet and then she said with a sudden forcefulness that shocked Ichigo, "I have the answer! You will go with Momo-chan tomorrow and help her clear the creek."

"Yes! Since we can't be there to protect our dear Momo-chan, it will be Momomiya-san's duty to protect our dear princess!" Exclaimed the smaller, blonde friend. She pumped her fists excitedly, clearly content with the chosen punishment.

Blushing, Momo started, "I really don't need anyone to-"

"NONSENSE! Princess, what would we do if you got hurt!" Demanded Kami, sinking to her knees and leaning across Ichigo to grasp her friend's hands. "Please, let Momomiya-san go with you. That's all I ask."

"Ah... Okay. I guess I could. If that's okay with you, Momomiya-san," Was Momo's shy response to which all the contented Ichigo could do was nod.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Foreword  
**Haha... Its been a while. Hopefully Ill actually update this regularly now. _

**(the second chapter)**

"Isnt this great, Momomiya-san?"

Ichigo forced the look of sheer boredom and disgust off his face as he looked up and met Momos eyes across the creek. The second she entered his line of vision there was no more need to force the content expression onto his face; seeing her made him light up instantly. When he was looking at her it was easy to fake enthusiasm, though cleaning the creek was probably the last thing hed ever imagined their first date to be. Not that this was really a date; hed been sentenced here by her friends, but he liked to think of it that way. "Yes, its wonderful to be helping the environment like this!" He chimed, trying to keep a straight face despite how lame that sounded.

Giggling excitedly, Momo hugged her trash-picking stick to her chest. "Youre so sweet! I know you dont want to be here." She admitted that fairly reluctantly and Ichigo felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment. How had she noticed!? "But... thank you for coming." For a moment he almost told her that there was nothing he wanted to do more then spend time with her, but managed only a nod and a smile. Even if he hadnt wanted to come for real Momos friends would have killed him for skipping out on her.

Looking away, Ichigo went back to picking up the garbage lining the creek to keep Momo from seeing how red his face had become. Maybe he should just get it over with and ask her out, since he was already a day later then had been planned. Pausing his work, he watched her walking along the creek, stabbing empty pop bottles and foil chip bags and shoving them into the large garbage bag she carried with her. He turned back so suddenly when she started towards him that he almost fell over.

Telling himself forcefully not to be such a wimp, Ichigo turned around to face her. "Aoyama-san!" He announced and she stopped suddenly to regard him with a face that conveyed just the perfect amount of surprise. It would be so easy to say what he wanted, to just ask her and get it over with, but the giant rat approaching from behind her was kind of killing the mood. "Aoyama-san, run!" He choked out, pointing past her at the monster. She whirled around and screamed at the sight of the beast towering over her, at least three times her height. Stumbling away she tripped and fell backwards down into the creek.

Before he knew what he was doing, Ichigo leaped across the creek and ran towards the rat, garbage poker at ready. Screeching furiously it swatted him aside before he was even in range. In one last effort of desperation, Ichigo chucked the poker as hard as he could, though to no avail. His back collided with a tree trunk, knocking the breath out of him an leaving him doubled-over, panting on the ground beneath the plant. He jumped at the sound of something landing next to him, horrified that it could be another one of those things.

Instead it was a girl. She knelt next to Ichigo and gave him a sceptical look before straightening again. "Ichigo Momomiya!" She announced, pointing a finger at him. "Masha, activate Mew Ichigo transformation!" She seemed to be talking to the pink pom-pom floating next to her head as it beeped excitedly when she spoke and projected a light onto Ichigo. He winced and covered his eyes, too out of breath to ask what was going on. The light was getting brighter... brighter... and then stopped abruptly. At the same time Ichigo suddenly felt completely healthy. Looking down at himself in surprise he was absolutely mortified to find that his clothes had changed.

Into a dress.

A pink dress. With a big, fat skirt, tall boots and fur-trimmed garters. Yesterday one might have suspected that he was only a little unlucky with girls. Now it was quite clear that the world was completely against him asking Momo out. Every time he even considered it something completely insane happened! Rising to his feet, ready to give the girl and her pom-pom a piece of his mind, Ichigo was stopped by a scream from the creek. Momo!

Ignoring the girls shocked commands to come back, Ichigo continued to race towards the creed where the rat thing had reached his Momo. He could feel words coming to his head, something that would help him. So, without a second thought he shouted them as loud as he could. "Strawberry bell-bell!" A second later when he realized exactly what it was that hed said, Ichigo wished he hadnt. Freezing at the edge of the hill that ran down towards the creek he wondered if he should even bother or just kill himself now. But no; Momo needed him. Wrapping his gloved fingers around the heart-shaped bell that had materialized in his hand upon saying the words, Ichigo took off.

"Ribbon Strawberry Check!" He announced and was shocked once again by the sheer idiocy of his words. Even so, they worked; light shot from the bell, straight at the rat and so hard it knocked the monster off its feet. When it landed it split in two, one half a small jelly-fish like thing and the other a completely normal rat. Ichigo watched, awed, as the girls Masha floated over and sucked up the jelly-fish thing. Still, there was no time to ask what was going on. First priority was helping Momo.

Down in the creek, Ichigo was relieved to find that she was still conscious, though she clearly didnt recognize Ichigo for who he was, thankfully since he was still in the pink dress. "Are you okay?" He asked her, lifting her up and carrying her out of the water. She was scraped up and muddy, but the rat hadnt done much more to her than the fall had.

Resting her head against his shoulder, Momo mumbled affirmation to his question. "Momomiya-san... How is he? Did he... did the monster get him?" Her voice was so soft and weak it pained Ichigo to hear.

"Dont worry, hell be fine," Ichigo promised her and looked up as he saw the girl walking towards them. In his arms he felt Momo go limp as she gave in and slipped out of consciousness. She was taller than Ichigo and obviously older, a high school student. The pink ball of fur had returned loyally to her side where it bobbed up and down impatiently. Now this was finally the right time to ask questions. Stepping towards her in an attempt to intimidate, which was pretty hard while wearing such a girly outfit, Ichigo snapped, "Whats going on!? What was that thing? Why am I dressed like this? Who _are_ you!?"

The girl laughed and nodded in the direction of a big black van waiting at the curb. It had blacked out windows and looked like the perfect vehicle for a kidnapping. Ichigo glared and hugged Momo closer to his chest, waiting for this strange girl to speak. When she finally did open her mouth it was to laugh. "Oh, Ichigo!" She laughed, not bothering to add any sort of honorific to his name, which bothered him even more. "Im sorry, but you look so funny! Dont worry, you can change back. Just come with me to the lab and Ill explain everything."

Taking a fighting stance, Ichigo spat, "Why the hell should I go anywhere with you!?"

She shrugged and turned away, a grin playing across her lips before she fought it back. "Oh, so you want to look like that forever?" She dug into the bag and pulled out a compact mirror and tossed it to Ichigo. He snatched it out of the air almost instinctively, nearly dropping Momo in the process. Laying her down gently in the grass the flipped it opened and glared over it at the girl before checking his reflection. Not only was his dress pink, but so was his hair! Not to mention that he had a pair of cat ears sticking out of his head. Furious he threw the mirror back at the girl as hard as he could.

"Fine! But your answers had better be good!"

Picking up Momo again, Ichigo followed the girl to the van, making sure to keep a fair distance between them. He already hated her and was sure she would give him no reason to stop. He wasnt able to keep up the distance for long, as she slid opened one of the vans side doors and waved Ichigo and Momo inside before sliding into the passenger's side. The driver was another girl, this one older and with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail. Both of them ignored Ichigo for the whole drive and instead spoke only to each other. About pasties.

Considering the topic of their conversation it should not have surprised Ichigo too much when they parked just outside the sickeningly pink cafe Ichigo had seen yesterday from the museum. And yet it did. Or maybe it was just that he couldnt believe he was associated with the people who owned this place. When the door slid back he glared straight at the blonde girl and hissed, "If you want me to go in there youre going to have to kill me."

Shrugging she said simply, "So youve decided you can live as a drag queen? Great! Makes my job so much easier. Have a nice life." Ichigos pride kept him in the van for not even a minute after the door slid shut before he took Momo and ran to catch up with the two girls who had been walking at a deliberately slow pace to the cafe.

The brown haired one hid a snicker behind her sleeve and said to the younger, "Dont you think that was a little mean, Ryou-chan?"

Laughing loudly, she turned and winked at Ichigo. "I had to convince him somehow."

The girls lead Ichigo down into the cafes basement where the scenery changed significantly from the pink upstairs. Down here it was all business. He was told to lay Momo on what looked like an operating table and to sit on another one right next to it. Reluctantly he did as he was told. Leaning over him, Ryou paused for a moment as if considering how to go about things and then ran her hand from his knee up, pushing his skirt, which he already thought was far too short, up even farther.

"What are you _doing_!? Pervert!" He demanded, kicking her away. She stumbled and fell down hard onto the linoleum.

"You wanted me to explain!" She snapped back, cheeks slightly red. Behind her the older girl was muffling giggles with her sleeve, though her shoulders were shaking quite obviously.

"How is that explaining!"

Ryou opened her mouth for another retort but was stopped by the brown haired girls hand on her shoulder. Now shed managed to put on a straight face and greeted Ichigos glare with a friendly smile. "Sorry about that. Theres a marking on your leg from where the animal DNA entered your body. We missed our target and hit the museum yesterday, so there are likely four others just like you." Ichigo stared at her, wondering what he should ask first. The rat? Others? Missed? But the girl smiled, understanding what he was thinking. "Dont worry, Ill get to everything. Just listen."

Ichigo decided that he liked her a lot better than Ryou. Maybe this whole thing would be tolerable if she was here to help him out. "You see, there are aliens attacking our planet. Theyre sending parasites that possess animals like the rat you just saw. We have come up with a way to stop them, but its still in the experimental phase. Yesterday we were testing it out but we missed and hit you. The plan it, we use endangered species DNA in humans to make them stronger. Endangered species have a stronger will to live because there are so few of them, so it is likely that they would be more intent on protecting the planet.

"We call the people they make Mew Mews. Just now Ryou started your transformation, so now you should be able to do it whenever you want. When you transform you look completely different, so hopefully no one will recognize you. Anything else?" She smiled sincerely while Ryou glared passed her at Ichigo.

Ignoring the angry girl he spoke only to the older one. "Does that mean I can change back?"

"Yes. Just think about changing back to normal and you will. We would have told you earlier but we needed you to come with us," She admitted sheepishly. Oddly enough, Ichigo didnt mind much when the confession came from her. It seemed fairly understandable, and besides, Momo would be ecstatic if she found out it was now his job to save the world. Then again, she might not be so thrilled to find out he was doing it in drag. Better not tell her, in that case. At least he could change back. Closing his eyes he did as the brown haired girl had told him and when he opened them he was wearing his normal clothes again.

Sliding off the table he walked over to Momo and lifted her into his arms. "If you need me to save the world or something, just come get me." Hed just reached the stairs when Ryou reached him. She grabbed his shoulder and slammed him against the wall.

"We need you. Masha!" The pom-pom floated over to her side and squeaked at Ichigo, who glared at both of them. "You need to find the other Mews. When theyre in a situation that they need to transform in, Masha will react. Or you could just find their mark. Theyre not all in the same place, by the way." She nodded her head at Masha and the thing floated over and landed on Ichigos shoulder.

"Great," He replied sarcastically and shoved her aside, taking the stairs two at a time to get away from her. By this point he was fairly sure that things could not get much worse than they already had.

"By the way!" She called after him. "You start work here tomorrow!"

Wow, look at that. Things _could_ get worse.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Foreword  
**Notice the lack of appostrophes in the second chapter? Well I got this new French keyboard, and the key where the appostrophe used to be is basically the same, so I've been using that instead. Only it doesn't show up here. Obviously. So I'm lazy & so most of this chapter is appostrophe-less. Don't worry, I know where the actual key is and will use that one next chapter. Y'know, if you actually care about that stuff. And you should  
GRAMMAR FTW. XPP_

**(the third chapter)**

Ichigo was lying in bed, sleeping deeply and dreaming about saving the planet in drag when his bedroom door crashed opened loudly, jolting him from his sleep. Sitting up straight he looked from his mother, who stood at the door in a housecoat with the cordless phone in her hand, to the clock which read only a couple minutes past six. Groaning, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and mumbled, "Whats up?" taking no notice of the absolutely horrified expression in his mothers face.

"The answering machine is full," She informed him in a tense voice. Ichigo bobbed his head up and down as he slid back under the covers, hoping he could get at least another hour of sleep before he had to go. "Ichigo! Its full of _death threats_." Now he sat up straight, wide awake and gaping at his mother. She nodded, looking so scared that she was furious.

Actually, Ichigo didnt think there was much to be scared of. Either they were from Momos friends or Ryou, both of whom he knew he could deal with. After all, he was officially a Mew Mew now. Come to think of it, why would Ryou bother threatening him unless she was actually serious. And why would she be actually serious? No, they must be from Momos friends. Kami and that other girl hed met at the museum whod sentenced him to spend the day with her in the first place. Yawning, he leaned forwards and reached out one arm to accept the phone. "Lets hear it then."

"Youre not worried?" Ichigo smiled and accepted the phone, amused at how his mother actually thought this was something to be scared about. If was definitely Kami; he remembered her creepy voice from before and could hear that other girl squeaking random comments in the background. No wonder there were so many; it must have taken those two forever to get the message right. Basically they said they would chop his head off with an axe and put it on the flagpole outside the school if he ever went near Momo again. Well, there was that among more vulgar things.

Deleting the message, he dropped the phone onto his bed and watched his mother pace nervously around the room. Occasionally she would mumble to herself, opening drawers and tossing out some of her sons clothes. Raising an eyebrow, Ichigo leaned back on his pillow and regarded her curiously for a moment more before asking, "Mom, what are you doing?"

She didnt even pause to look at him, though she did seem to hesitate before speaking. Which was good, since it meant the calls hadnt driven her completely insane. "Were leaving the country, Ichigo. I dont know what youve gotten involved in, but its not safe anymore. You probably dont remember, but I got you a passport when you were younger in case something like this happened. Come on, get dressed. We dont have much time..." Her voice trailed off as she attacked Ichigos closet, oblivious to the fact that her son had not moved a muscle since she started talking.

"Dont worry, theyre all talk. Ill see them at school and deal with this. No problem."

But it was a problem. It was so much of a problem, in fact, that it took all morning to convince his mother to let him leave the house without disguising himself as an old man with a back problem in order to get onto a plane to England. Thus when Ichigo finally got to school he was hungry, sockless, exhausted and almost late. Upon entering his classroom he found that everyone had already arrived, though thankfully class was yet to start. Sinking tiredly into his seat it wasnt until the teacher began speaking that he noticed who he was sitting beside.

Kami.

She looked sinister, with her dark hair and empty grey eyes. Of course, it could also be due to the fact that she was facing away from the window and holding a flashlight under her chin. Swallowing hard, Ichigo managed a shaky smile, though her expression did not change in the slightest. Instead she waited for him to look away before droning, "Seven days." His head swivelled back around and then back again when he felt an icy grip on the back of his neck. Momos other friend was sitting on Ichigos other side and he was beginning to realize that this had been set up.

Looking around the room, Ichigo searched frantically for Momo. If she wasnt around to save him it was entirely possible for these two to carry out their threats. But she wasnt there. His heart thudded in his chest and he wondered if maybe something had happened to her. Another attack...?

But no. The door slid opened and everyone looked up to see Momo stepping shyly into the classroom. "Sorry Im late," she said apologetically and walked over to take a seat directly behind Ichigo. Glancing from one friend to the other she managed to put together what was happening fairly quickly, with help from the flashlight in Kamis hand and the bucket of ice water under the other girls desk. "Oh, come on you two. I told you he didnt do anything."

Kami shifted uncomfortably in her seat and shut off the light. "But Momo-chan is so nice, she could just be saying that to protect this delinquent."

"Yah!" Piped the squeaky girl. "At least tell us what happened!"

Momo blushed and did not meet Ichigos mildly concerned gaze. "Im sorry. I wanted to wait until Momomiya-san was here. What happened at the creek... I was attacked by a monster. Momomiya-san tried to protect me, but-"

"AHA!" Exclaimed Momos friend whos name was still unknown to Ichigo. "I bet he set it up so that he could save you!"

A few moments passed as Momo blinked into confusion and tried to comprehend how that made any sense. Shrugging it off, she smiled sheepishly. "Yuki..." She started, but was cut off by Kami shouting, "OBJECTION!"

Leaning coolly against her desk, she tossed her dark hair over her shoulder and gave Yuki a warning look, which was returned with a glare. "Momomiya-san is too stupid for such a complicated tactic." Ichigo frowned, opening and closing his mouth a few times in a fairly fish-like manner as he struggled to figure out whether that was really an insult. "Now, go on princess."

"Well," Continued Momo without hesitating for a second or even pausing to take a breath before she launched back into her story. "We were attacked by a monster _thi__s_ big!" To illustrate just how big the monster was she flung her hands apart, nearly hitting the students seated on either side of her. The rest of the story included movements of the same variety though the danger of them increased as she got more into it. "Momomiya-san ran _bravely_ to my rescue with his trash poker, but the monster _flung_ him away like he was just a little fly to it!

"Then it had me cornered. I fell into the creek and was just lying there with this _huge_ monster towering- Oh my God! Are you okay? Can you see!?" She demanded as she accidently stuck her fingers into Ichigos eye. Blinking madly, he clenched his jaw and nodded, hoping that he would be able to see if the pain ever subsided enough for him to open it again. In the meantime, Momo went on. "So, I was just lying there with this huge monster towering over me! I was _so_scared that it had _killed_ Momomiya-san!"

Ichigo looked shyly towards Momo, having nowhere else to look since he was being glared at from both sides by her friends after theyd heard how hed worried her. She didnt seem to notice anything, though, and went on as if shed forgotten completely where she was. Actually, it seemed pretty likely that she had. "But then I heard this voice! And it said," She leaped up onto her chair and shouted as loud as she could, "'Strawberry bell-bell'!" Rising to her desk, she continued with, "Then, 'Ribbon Strawberry Check'!! And the monster _flew_off its feet! And I was so relieved that I had been saved, but I was sure I would just be left lying there and could only hope that my saviour would help Momomiya-san."

"But then I saw her! She was dressed in pink and had cat ears. At first I was sure I was hallucinating, but she picked me up and said," She paused to sigh dramatically before saying with as much feeling as she could muster, "'Are you okay?' Then she lifted me up and carried me out of there. I couldnt see Momomiya-san, but she told me he was fine and Ive never believed someone more than I believed her!"

Yuki huffed and leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. Clearly she was disappointed that she hadnt found anything she could blame Ichigo for in the story, though he was feeling rather pleased himself. Kami also seemed to be without anything that Ichigo needed to be penalized for, so instead she turned on his new secret superhero self. "About that girl... I think you trust her too much..." Her voice trailed off at the sight of the absolutely heartbroken look on her friends face.

Looking away, Momo played with the hem of her skirt and said softly, clearly doubting her self on this one. "Kami... you dont understand... I... She is my _idol_! And she saved my life. She saved yours, too, Momomiya-san! Dont you think we can trust her?"

On one hand, Ichigo knew that he could trust himself completely, and agreeing with Momo would make her happy. But on this one it also might make her friends want to kill him. Taking a deep breath, he decided to go for it, to risk certain death. "Of course we can, Aoyama-san!"

She giggled happily and returned to her seat and turned her attention to the teacher, whod been going on as if no one had been reciting an epic tale in his class. After a couple minutes passed, Ichigo felt her tap his shoulder and twisted around in his seat to face her. "Remember that girl at the museum who gave you the handkerchief?" She asked.

"Yah. I should probably return it," He mused, having forgotten about it completely after yesterday's events. Of course, he couldnt completely forget the museum. That was what had started this whole thing.

Smiling sweetly at him, as if it would take any convincing, Momo asked, "Could I come with you? We dont really spend enough time together. I mean, we are friends, right?"

Biting the inside of his lip to keep himself from melting, Ichigo nodded. He did that for about a minute before managing to squeak, "Of course!" He turned quickly back to the front of the room and grinned down at his notebook. She was asking him out! _Momo was asking him out_.

But then, she was asking him out to the house of Mint Aizawa.

With help from Kami, Momo and Ichigo had narrowed down the search at quite an impressive speed. The Aizawa family was incredibly rich. They had two children, a boy and a girl. She had also gotten for them the location of their estate, where the pair headed as soon as school let out.

Ichigo had not forgotten about Ryou and what shed said about him working, but if Mint was at the museum, then there was a chance that she could also be one of the Mews. And he really didn't want to spend any time with Ryou. Sure she was pretty, with her thin figure, long legs, blonde hair, blue eyes and so on, but being hot clearly did not make her nice. Besides, Momo was far better looking than her, as far as Ichigo was concerned.

Momo insisted they get the taxi to Mints house a couple blocks away since she wanted some time to talk before the ride, but they got caught up dealing with Ichigo's friends for a few minutes and had to run to get there. It was amazing how fast he suddenly was, since Ichigo hadnt been all that athletic before the museum incident. Now, though, he had to run slow so he didnt loose Momo, whod won awards for her speed. The collapsed into the back seat of the cab just before it drove off and coughed up the directions between greedy gasps for air.

"Youre... fast!" Laughed Momo, breathing heavily. Now that hed stopped it seemed that reality had time to catch up and now Ichigo was panting, too, and he only nodded at her in reply. The rest of the ride, even after theyd caught their breath, was full of short bursts of conversation, which seemed awkward to Ichigo, but he tried to relax since Momo appeared to be enjoying it.

They almost forgot to pay when they stepped out of the cab to be greeted by a park surrounded by a tall iron gate. Of course the driver, who appeared to be quite fed up with them already, was not letting them get away. They argued about it briefly until Ichigo realized he had no money and Momo paid, then they turned to face the house. Okay, 'house' was a colossal understatement. Past trees, shrubs, flowers, fountains, and down the long, winding trail, they could see the biggest home theyd ever seen outside of TV.

Gaping, Momo pressed the doorbell and a voice demanded out of nowhere. "Welcome to the Aizawa household. Who is this?" Both kids jumped, Momo clinging to Ichigos arm and releasing it so quickly one might have thought it was on fire and Ichigo trying to look tough, like a disembodied voice could _never_ scare _him_.

"Ichigo Momomiya and Momo Aoyama," Ichigo said loudly, hoping that he could be heard. "We're here to return a handkerchief to Mint-san."

Sceptically the voice said, "And you could not possibly bear the responsibility of returning a handkerchief _alone_?" But before they could reply the gates, which one might have expected to creak, opened smoothly. Glancing at each other, Momo and Ichigo decided that was probably a rhetorical question and entered the Aizawa household.

The garden, or gardens, looked even more amazing close up. Momo could hardly take a step without having to 'ooh' and 'aah' at something. Eventually they made it to the house, though they did get lost a few times as it was hard to tell which of the many trails lead where. Reaching up to the door knocker, Ichigo paused as he heard voices inside the house.

"Mother," Snapped someone, likely one of the children, though Ichigo couldnt tell which one through the layer of wood. He was surprised it wasnt thick enough to drown out their conversation, actually. Then again, they were talking rather loudly. More like yelling. "I am not wearing this."

"Dont you have any dignity!" Howled a woman, the first speakers mother, Ichigo assumed.

"Yes. And I have to be true to myself. Please understand, I-"

"Shut up! You are a disgrace! What do you mean, true to yourself!? You are a boy! Whats _wrong_ with you! If you can not smarten up and act decent then you can no longer live in my house! You will no longer be my son!" Ichigo was relieved that this was not Mint, since he really didnt want to catch some rich girl in a bad mood if he was going to have to check for her marking. Speaking of which, how would he go about that, especially with Momo here?

"But I-"

"Get _out_!"

With that the door flew opened. Shocked and a little guilty, Ichigo and Momo leapt forcefully back, falling over on another to the ground. Thankfully the woman did not notice them, as she was too busy throwing her son and a white pom-pom out onto the walkway beside them before slamming the door loudly. Scowling, the boy sat up and noticed the others immediately. Ichigo was surprised at how much he looked like his sister, though what really caught his attention was the white thing. Could the Aizawa family already be associated with Ryou? But no; as it turned out, it was nothing more than a particularly annoying dog.

Pretending she hadnt heard the conversation, Momo smiled brightly at the boy sitting on the walkway beside them. "Hi! Im Momo Aoyama and this is Ichigo Momomiya and-"

"Please, get to the point and explain your purpose here," He snapped, scooping the dog up into his arms as he stood, glaring down at Momo and Ichigo. He may not be Mint, but Ichigo still wished they could have caught him in a better mood. And possibly with a better dog; the thing was snarling at him, baring its tiny, sliver-sized teeth at the cat-boy

Momo seemed rather uneasy as well; her face was flushed and she was playing with the hem of her skirt again, looking down at the boy's knees as she spoke. "Um... we have a handkerchief for your sister, Mint-san. She was very nice to give it to us yesterday at the museum so I thought we should..." The boy made an impatient noise and her voice trailed off into incoherent mumbling and then stopped all together. Beside her, Ichigo got to his feet, wondering if maybe he should defend her, but before he could decide the boy was snapping at them again.

"Do I _look_ like I need one pathetic handkerchief!? See this house, see this yard? They are _mine_! I'm _rich_. If that is the only thing you have to bother me about please leave," Though he started out rather forcefully, by the end he sounded tired and perhaps even defeated.

Getting to her feet, Momo took a deep breath to gather her wits. She looked up suddenly at the boy and blurted, "Please let us talk to Mint-san!"

Surprised and furious, the boy loosened his grip on the dog. Before he could say a word back to Momo, the little white hairball crashed into her, paws first and surprisingly hard so that it almost knocked him down. Ichigo stumbled, trying to catch her, but was too late and they went down together. On the bright side, he managed to break her fall. Moaning softly, she shifted, looking confused for a second before realizing that she was lying on top of Ichigo. At the sight of him her eyes widened with shock and she reached out towards his head. Mint's brother looked equally as surprised.

"You..." She started, looking shocked.

Slapping his hands abruptly over his head, Ichigo demanded, "_What_!?" his face flushed darkly. He already knew what; he could feel it, he could feel that his cat ears were sticking out. But there was no reply; just more staring. It was hard to concentrate on looking normal when they were doing that, but at last he felt them disappear and choked out the only excuse he could come up with on short notice. "What's wrong, they're just leaves," He was going for casual, but didn't think he sounded like it.

Yet somehow they bought it, and Mint's brother was crouching on the ground by his dog, trying to comfort it. Momo and Ichigo, especially, seemed to have bothered it quite a lot. A couple minutes passed with Momo and Ichigo watching uncomfortably, each waiting for the other to ask him again. At last he sighed and glared up at them. "Mint is me, you idiots."

This caught the two of them off guard, though Momo's recovery came impressively quick. "Wow! You looked really pretty in a dress!" Noticing that Ichigo was still gawking, she elbowed him gently, hinting that he should say something too. Nodding like a madman, he somehow coughed up a convincing affirmation of Momo's praise.

Mint smiled, though his eyes were on Ichigo instead of Momo. "Do you really think that?"

"Uh." There was a pause in which Momo elbowed him again, harder. "Sure!" He yelped, shocked that it actually hurt. The look on Mint's face was a little frightening, so Ichigo got to his feet, grabbing Momo's wrist and practically dragging her up with him. "We should really go now. You know, places to go and that," He said uneasily, inching away even as he spoke.

Rising with them, Mint took a step forwards to imitate Ichigo's step back. "Of course. We should meet again soon. I'll be thinking of you." Turning to run, Ichigo caught Mint blowing him a kiss out of the corner of his eye. He would have ran for his life, but Momo continued to face Mint, smiling and waving goodbye. Reluctant to tear her away, since she was _Momo_, Ichigo stood uncomfortably as the two said their goodbyes. At last he mumbled his own and they were free.

Safely off the Aizawa property, Ichigo rushed to dial a taxi while Momo slumped against the brick wall that fenced the yard, laughing quietly to herself. "I think he was really nice! Don't you? I think we should see him again. I mean, he sure did look pretty in a dress." She winked suggestively at Ichigo when he looked up from his cell phone.

Blushing, more because of what she'd done than what she'd said, Ichigo muttered under his breath, "You're a sadist."

Though he hadn't meant for her to catch his words, Momo had and proceeded to laugh herself to tears. Trying his best to ignore her, he gave finally got the right number with his shaking fingers and distracted thoughts. He desperately hoped he would never have to see Mint Aizawa ever again.

Which was really just further proof that it was Ichigo Momomiya against the world.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Foreword  
**Wow, I'm actually starting to get into this... Just wondering, do you think I should up the rating to T? Or does anyone here actually care that much about ratings? xP Oh, and do you like Rai? He's not very important, but I like him, so I dunno if I should put him in more chapters or not... _

**(the fourth chapter)**

Upon awaking, Ichigo found it to be a bright, sunny Thursday. There was a cloudless sky over head as he walked leisurely to school after receiving no death threats so far. All in all, he had a good feeling about this day. If every day was like this, he thought, then maybe he wouldn't have to worry about being a Mew Mew. It was just one of those comfortable, natural high kind of days where it seems there is nothing you can't do. Nothing including finally asking Momo out. True, he'd been promising himself that for days, but if the impossible ever became possible, this was the time. Unfortunately that was not about to happen, despite how one red-haired boy might feel inside.

The signs that his good feeling were completely misleading began just before his first class of the day while he stood in front of his locker, fingers twisting the knob from 6 to 34 to finish the combination. When the little arrow was poised over the 20 mark, Ichigo felt something buzzing softly against his leg, making him shiver. Curious, though it was probably just one of his friends calling him for the sole sake of raising his phone bill, he pulled it out and flipped it opened with his thumb. Halfway to his ear he realized that it wasn't a call, but a text message he'd received.

Whoever had sent it to him was someone who's number he didn't have. Unfortunately he didn't know anyone who's number he didn't also know. Excepts, of course, those poor souls who somehow survived without cell phones. Okay, actually Ichigo didn't use his that much, but he knew people who's lives seemed to revolve entirely around theirs. Opening the message he stared for a moment, wondering if it was a joke, though the sender's name it included indicated otherwise. It took a little while to take in, despite the fact that it consisted of nothing more than a word and a number.

_To: Ichigo Momomiya  
__From: Ryou Shirogane_

_Message: 7 days_

Ichigo leaped about a foot in the air when soft blond locks brushed his cheek and a voice inches from his ear demanded in a deafening tone, "What's that?"

Coming back to earth, Ichigo staggered, fell against the lockers and managed to turn and glare at the boy who had snuck up on him before sliding down the metal wall to the linoleum tiled floor. The boy standing over him gave him an innocently confused face. He was wearing a toque, from under which his many locks of blond shot out every which way. Lying across his head was a giant pair of headphones that Ichigo guessed were permanently attached to his head, since he was already wearing them, always yelling so he could hear himself over the heavy metal he never ceased to listen to, and mysteriously could always tell what everyone was saying when they spoke in normal tones. This was none other than Rai Aohoshi. But then, who else could it be?

Making sure to scowl as he rose, just in case Rai's thick glasses had lost their power to keep their owner oblivious to all negative emotion, to no avail. "Nothing, just my stalker," He replied, sounding rather disappointed that his seemingly perfect day had been ruined so quickly. This comment caught Rai's curiosity and he snatched the phone from Ichigo's grip, which he tightened a second too late.

Reading it at a freakishly slow pace, Rai finally laughed and tossed back the phone, which Ichigo nearly failed to catch. "A genius is gonna kill you in seven days? Man, you have no luck with girls."

"Yah, you saw me with Aoyama-san on Tuesday," Ichigo retorted, too busy defending himself to even think of asking how Rai knew anything about Ryou, which was actually pretty amazing since the guy didn't appear to even know how to tie his shoes.

Rolling his eyes, Rai stepped past Ichigo and unlocked the locker Ichigo had completely forgotten about. Yet another show of knowledge Rai hadn't been expected to have, though this was slightly more worrisome, since who knew what this guy would do with access to someone else's locker? "Oh yah, now you're the best of friends. Come on, Ichigo-kun, she likes you as a girlfriend. Next you're going to be watching chick flicks and wearing skirts."

Unfortunately he was already half right. Maybe more. Did Momo really only think of him as her friend? Was that all he would ever be to her? The worst part was, he didn't even know how to fix it. Of course, he could just ask her out now and get it over with. After all, he'd be seeing her in class soon. Shoving Rai aside, Ichigo got out what he needed and slammed it loudly closed before realizing his lock was gone. Annoyed, he wheeled around and came face-to-face with Rai, who was dangling his lock from his fingertip.

Rolling his eyes, Ichigo reached for it but not even a second before his hand was to make contact, it was pulled away. He stepped forwards and Rai imitated him with a step back across the hall. Students frowned and muttered, twisting to move around him on their way to their classes. "What's your problem? Give it back!" Snapped Ichigo, Rai's immunity to his bad mood making it worse.

"Come get it," Rai taunted, moving further back towards the hallway's opposite wall where Ichigo could see the sky, a few trees, and the street through the windows. Clenching his teeth, Ichigo raced forwards, ready to fight Rai for the lock, or maybe just because he wanted to punch something. The blond boy's laugh was cut off as he tripped over someone's foot and fell back against the wall, which blew out upon impact. Ichigo froze mid-step as he saw the rubble that was the wall fall three stories down to reveal a giant bird-like monster hovering awkwardly at his height.

The feeling of being torn between one's dignity and one's friend was terrible, though it turned out that Ichigo didn't have to make the decisions, as all those left in the hallway were screaming and evacuating the area. Numbly he felt fingers brush his arm and a nearby voice telling him to get out of there. Glancing both ways down the hall, he took a step forwards towards the opening. Up high it felt colder, and windier. His hair whipped around his face as he slid his backpack off his shoulder and pulled it opened, knowing that Masha had been hiding there since he'd gotten home from Ryou's Cafe of Gay. Dropping it to the ground he whispered under his breath, "Here goes nothing..." before closing his eyes and concentrating on his transformation, on saving Rai. Hopefully it took a while to fall three floors...

When his eyes snapped opened the bird was right there in front of him and he fell backwards with a shout. It was perched on the crumbling edge of the building, blocking Ichigo's only exit. Bracing himself, he slid across the floor, under one of the monster's spread wings. It moved to block him and he felt feathers hot as fire graze his back, but reacted only to clench his teeth as he pushed off awkwardly and shot towards the earth. He could see Rai below him and was surprised by how little time had actually passed since he'd fallen. Still, there was no way he could catch up normally... Calling forth his weapon, Ichigo twisted in mid-air, aiming his attack for the bird, which let out a savage cry and turned towards him. "Ribbon Strawberry Check!" The pink burst missed the bird, colliding and blowing a hole instead in the side of the school. Despite the slight guilt he felt at that, it had provided the momentum he needed to reach the ground before Rai.

Wrapping an arm around the other boy's waist, Ichigo twisted them so they would land without breaking anything. They barely made it; he staggered and fell sideways, dropping Rai in the process. Rubbing his head, he looked up at Ichigo and grinned. "That was pretty cool," He said, laughing nervously. Ichigo managed a slight grin which vanished entirely when Rai's face fell. He hardly turned in time to dodge the giant fire bird dive-bombing them. Miraculously he grabbed Rai's collar and leaped clumsily out of the way, falling hard to the grass just out of the way.

Getting shakily to his feet, Ichigo turned towards the bird and raised his bell with the hand that wasn't still holding Rai. "Come get some," He said, taking a fighting stance and glaring at the monster, which roared as it straightened and faced off against him. If it wasn't for his weight and squirming, Ichigo could've forgotten completely that he was crushing Rai against his hip, though it didn't pose much of a problem until the bird charged them at the same time Rai finally managed to twist out of Ichigo's grip.

As it crashed through the space between the two the best sliced Ichigo's cheek opened with it's beak, and before he could recover his wing collided with his throat, knocking the air out of his lungs and throwing him across the schoolyard. Meanwhile its claws raked across Rai's back, tearing four vertical lines in his shirt and identical bloody marks across his back. Wheeling around it roared furiously and charged Ichigo, who hardly had a chance to fling his arms up over his face before it slammed its flat forehead into him, sending him flying once more, this time against the school wall. As it stepped casually forwards and scaly feet it seemed to be grinning triumphantly.

Groaning, he sank down into a sitting position, legs twisted beneath him, though he couldn't force himself to his feet. Trying once more he held his bell-like weapon in both trembling hands and gasped, his voice barely auditable to even himself, "Ribbon Strawberry Check..." Nothing happened; saying the words was clearly not all there was too it. A certain degree of desperation, apparently, was required. In short, he was screwed. Hopefully his dignity would be preserved and he would not change back to normal when he died, exposing to the world that he was a freakish cross-dressing superhero. Wow, he'd always assumed his mind would go straight to Momo in his final moments, and how he'd yet to tell her how much he loved her.

But fate seemed to want him to suffer in the world of the living for a little while longer, or at least Rai did. Through half-lidded eyes, Ichigo saw him rise off the ground, face twisted with pain but he did not flinch. Instead he clenched his fists and shouted, "Hey, you! Quit picking on girls and come fight me like a man!"

Believe it or not, the bird monster understood this to be a challenge and turned, wings spread in an attempt to look intimidating, to face Rai once more. He shifted one foot forwards, bent his knees and held his fists at ready. Ichigo felt his heart lurch with horror; even he could tell that his friend was about to loose miserably. Bracing himself, he watched, transfixed with horror as the monster flew forwards, beak jabbing Rai in the chest before he could even touch it. Someone screamed his name and it took a moment before Ichigo realized that it was himself. And that the bird was facing him again.

Hot, blinding rage has proven itself time and again to cause people to do completely idiotic things. Of course, these things, when done in rage, are usually done with much vigour, which was just what Ichigo needed to stand up and end this fight. Which he proceeded to do. Hissing through clenched teeth at the pain that shot from every inch of his body, he miraculously did not tremble as he held his strawberry bell-bell before him and shouted, "Ribbon Strawberry Check!" The attack hit the bird and before Ichigo could blink it was back to it's components; alien parasite and typical, every day bird. He saw Masha floating down from the hole in the third floor to suck up the parasite. It hesitated, looking at Ichigo, then headed back to his backpack.

Stumbling forwards, Ichigo practically fell to Rai's side. He appeared to be unconscious at first, but as soon as Ichigo's fingers touched his neck, the boy opened his eyes. A wide, relieved grin stretched across Ichigo's face; he was far happier to find Rai safe than he'd thought he would be. First Momo and now Rai, he really had to stop getting people involved in this, even if it wasn't intentional.

Smiling back, Rai coughed and then said, "You're that girl Aoyama-san keeps raving about, right?"

"Y... yeah," He replied, hesitating for a moment before deciding he should go along with this. "I guess so. The black haired girl from the creek?" It was something close to painful, pretending he didn't know who the girl of his dreams was.

Rai laughed a little, though he was coughing quickly. Ichigo, not sure what to do, waited for him to stop and say what he'd been about to. "You..." He winced, looking a little dizzy. "You'd be pretty hot, if you weren't so flat."

"What the hell is that supposed to..." He let his voice trail off, realizing that Rai had fainted. Sighing, he decided that he might as well change back to normal now and did just that. It was already so easy, even though he'd done it only a couple times. As soon as he was back to normal the exhaustion caught up with him and he fell forwards over top of Rai as the world faded to black.

xxx

Finally the weekend had arrived! Of course, it wasn't really that great, since after the fight school had been cancelled so now they had two days worth of homework. As it turned out, Ichigo hadn't even seen Momo. He'd awoken in the hospital where he found out that no one had seen him as a Mew, though everyone was talking about the bird. With Rai's honest account of events according to himself as a guideline, Ichigo explained what had happened to him and how he'd gotten so beaten up without Rai seeing him. Most of it involved claims of his friend being delirious. Anyways, by the time school started the next morning the feeling was gone and Ichigo had once again lost the nerve to ask Momo out.

Though it seemed he was about to get another date with her. He was standing outside his locker, packing books into his bag and wondering if he should hire a forklift to help him carry it or something, when Momo came running over, waving a slip of flowery note paper around in the air. "Momomiya-san! Did you get one, too?"

Trying to think on the bright side, Ichigo told himself it would be okay since Momo was coming, though he still dreaded the event the paper was inviting him to. Actually he hadn't looked at his own; the second he noticed a slip of paper with Mint's name on it in his locker he'd done his best to ignore it, though this situation left him no choice. It was a formal invitation to a ballet recital in which the cross-dressing boy would be participating. "Yah, right here," He said, trying hard to think of Momo instead of Mint as he took it out of his locker and showed it to her.

Somehow she managed to pick up on his reluctance, though she made sure to greet it with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. "We have to go! After all, he _sure_ looks good in a dress!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes and turned away, locking his locker back up and pulling his backpack up onto his shoulder. It practically drove him through the floor, not that this hallway needed any more holes. "No way."

"Please? My ticket is for one person and I'd be _so_ nervous there with all those rich people and no one I know..." He voice trailed off as Ichigo turned back to look at her and was greeted with the best pouty, puppy-dog eyes face anyone had ever made. Ichigo's heart melted at the sight of this and there was absolutely no way anyone with a conscience could say no, let alone Ichigo Momomiya.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Foreword  
**lolololol. This chapter sucks. But I already wrote it once before then deleted the whole thing, so I don't think I'm ever going to be in the mood to fix it. Um. Just so you know, you might have to eat like, a bag of sugar before you find this funny at all. & Granite, I really have no clue what "a slight Z" means. ;-; Sorry. I'm stupid. If you hadn't noticed. lololololol -cutswrists-_

**(the fifth chapter)**

The walls of Mint's own private dressing room shook with the noise backstage of the recital hall. He'd put on a CD to drown out the noise so he could calm down, but the track list included the one he'd be dancing to for the final performance and made him so much more nervous. On the little desk at one end of the room over which a large mirror rimmed with bare light bulbs he'd set a framed picture of his idol, Zakuro Fujiwara, top model to most of the world and a god to Mint, had been placed. Taking a deep breath he sank into the velvet-cushioned backless chair before the desk and looked to the picture as if Zakuro could speak words of wisdom straight of out it.

Sometimes he was sure he could hear her, though anyone sane would realize that was the stress talking. Not that he normally felt as if he was under a great amount of stress at these types of things. The number of people, intimidating to most, had never bothered Mint much. There had always been lots of them, since the dance school he attended was quite prestigious and many upper class folk had connections to it one way or another and found themselves compelled to attend recitals. Of course they had to ask about it ahead of time; the event was invitation only. Which brings us to the reason for Mint's stress.

Momo Aoyama and, more importantly, Ichigo Momomiya were to attend tonight. At least he hoped they would, especially the red-haired boy who he was quite fond of. There was just something about him that made Mint want to get to know him better. Sitting before Zakuro's photograph he smiled sadly and spoke to the two-dimensional figure beneath the glass. "Zakuro-sama, I wonder if Ichigo-kun really likes me. Clearly he has some sort of attachment to that Aoyama girl, but I wonder if he could possibly..." The current song playing ended and song that would end the recital began, causing Mint's train of thought to veer completely off the tracks.

Having been too distracted to notice someone knocking at the dressing room door, Mint was shocked when it opened and his instructor stepped in. Surprised enough, in fact, to scream, jump and fall backwards off his chair. She pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow at him, the dark circles under her eyes indicating that she was even more panicked about this than he was. Then again, the woman was always worrying about something. Her beady brown eyes darted around the room, frequently pausing on Mint and the dress he was yet to put on. Finally she took a shaky breath and barked, "Get dressed! You're on soon and you won't have much time after that before the finale." With that she stormed out of the room, slamming the door so hard that Mint could feel the floor vibrate beneath him.

He was one of the backup dancers in another dance shortly before the big ending. Hopefully Ichigo and Momo wouldn't pick him out until he'd taken center stage in his moment of glory. At least that's what he kept telling himself. True, he had never failed, never made a mistake here before, but could he really do it in the presence of...Forcing himself to stop dwelling over such silly things he dragged himself to his feet and began getting dressed for his first performance.

Meanwhile, Ichigo had been horrified to find that the assigned seating forced him to the very front of the room. Thankfully he was next to Momo, but he would much rather have been as far away from Mint as he could possibly get in this room. Actually, it was a pretty big room. And completely filled. Though he hadn't gone to many recitals in his life, Ichigo was pretty sure none of them had been presented to this many people. He couldn't help but gawk at all the well-dressed rich people gathered into this one room. They gawked back, some shifting away from him as if middle class was contagious. After the first ten minutes or so he got bored at staring at these folk and started to actually pay attention to the dancing.

Which was boring as hell. So from then on he reclined back in his shockingly comfortable chair and stole glances at the enthralled Momo out of the corner of his eye. Despite how she'd claimed she didn't want to come alone and feel out of place, Ichigo seriously doubted that anyone actually thought they were together. He was dressed in ripped jeans and an old t-shirt. On the other hand, Momo looked fabulous. She wore a short red Chinese dress with an intricate silver design up one side, her beautiful hair pulled back in a bun with a pair of chopsticks through it, red with shining silver dragons up their sides.

Yet the recital went on and after a while even staring at Momo grew tiresome. He'd checked the program about forty times in the last minute and was starting to doze off, which was all too possible in those seats. Clearly rich people were expected to be more respectable and have no trouble staying awake or they'd be smart enough to install chairs that you could hardly sit in comfortably, let alone sleep, like most other recital type places.

By the end even Momo was staring to get a little bored. In fact, she must have fallen asleep for a moment, because when she opened her eyes she couldn't remember having seen the dancers on the stage before, though she spotted Mint near the back. Beside her Ichigo's even breathing indicated that he was fast asleep. Grinning, she shook her head and turned her attention to the show, impressed that he hadn't complained.

Thankfully for Mint the final song jolted Ichigo straight out of his slumber shortly into the song. Glancing around it took him a second to remember where he was, though it all came flooding back when his eyes met Momo's. Looking away, he felt his face flush and tried to ignore her muffled giggling. At least she wasn't mad, though he was pretty embarrassed. Did she even really want to watch this, Ichigo wondered, or was this all a ploy so she could make fun of him about Mint's apparent crush?

_Back__-back-back up, reverse-reverse __Cause I - I liked you the way you were_

The slow dancing seemed pretty out of place with that song, though at least Momo was having fun. Next to Ichigo, who was staring incredulously up at what had now evolved into mildly suggestive dancing going on onstage, Momo was doubled over, shaking with laughter. It was a short while before he could choke out even, "What the _hell_?" which got no reply, other than causing Momo, who had paused to breathe, to collapse into giggles once more.

Recovering momentarily, Momo looked up at Ichigo, grinning. "You're not watching? It's just for you."

Ichigo looked away without replying, sending Momo into yet another laughing fit. _At least she's having fun,_ he told himself, but he wished she could be laughing with him instead of at him. As he turned his head away from her he made a point not to look at the stage, but something caught hit eye, forcing him to stop and stare. Mint was facing away from the audience, the low back of his dress revealing what appeared to be a small blue tattoo. Ichigo wished he would stay still, but as it was he was pretty sure he knew what it was, as if his own animal DNA was reacting to the realization.

He jumped when he felt more than heard Momo whispering in his ear, "See something you like?"

Blushing, he yelped "Hell no!" and tore his eyes away from the stage.

Until the song ended and the stage cleared, Ichigo spent his time trying to ignore Momo, something he never would have thought he would want to do, and thinking about all the things it could be other than a Mew Mew mark on Mint's back. He could always just ignore it, pretend he hadn't seen anything or tell himself that it just wasn't that, but he knew it would eat him up if he didn't figure it out.

Out in the lobby with all the rich folk pushing past them as if the pair was nothing more than middle-class rocks in a river of riches Ichigo made an excuse to leave Momo for a little while. If she knew about Mint it would mean she knew about Ichigo, too. Even so, he was having second thoughts as he turned away from her and she whistled after him. When he gave her a look she struggled and failed to keep a straight face. "Aw, it's okay, Ichigo-chan, you don't have to deny it. I mean, he _sure _did look pretty in that dress."

Being his love-struck self, Ichigo didn't even notice her taunt the second she spoke his first name. His heart beat quickened and a silly little smile floated onto his face before he turned away and shouldered his way through the crowd. The building was a lot bigger than he'd thought and with a lot of hiding places behind random boxes of costumes for plays, props, speakers and other such paraphernalia. Though he didn't want to be seen and have to explain himself, Ichigo was finding it pretty hard to find Mint's dressing room. He'd already cracked open the door on two half-dressed girls and he really didn't want to risk one noticing him.

On the bright side, most of the dressing rooms weren't actual rooms, just spaces hidden by curtains and cubicle-like spaces that could be easily removed. Mint being the star of the show he likely had one of the better ones. Reaching a small closet-like room in the corner, Ichigo slid his fingers across the shiny golden doorknob and hesitated. _Third time's a charm, _he thought and turned the knob.

At first Mint was too busy to notice him. The cross-dressing boy was standing with his back to the mirror, looking over his shoulder and trying to unlace the back of his dress which did up like a corset. Pulling the door closed quietly behind him, Ichigo leaned back against it and wondered why Mint wasn't good at stuff like that by now. Suddenly he froze and Ichigo tensed, bracing himself for a loud reaction. Dropping his hands to his sides, Mint looked up at Ichigo then quickly away, his face flushed. "L... leave now, you pervert. Or I'll call security."

Standing up straight, and rolling his eyes, Ichigo regarded Mint with mild amusement, trying his best not to think about how much this sucked. "I thought you'd be happy to see me," He teased, trying to sound dejected. There was no point putting on a sad face to go with the voice, since clearly Mint wasn't capable of looking at him.

"I... Um... Did you like my dance?" He asked, clearly nervous.

Disgusted by Mint's behaviour and the mere thought that he could possibly have liked that dance, Ichigo snapped, "No way! What were you trying to do? Scar everyone for life!?"

"Then why are you here!?" Mint shouted back, looking up to meet Ichigo's eye. His own were glassy, as if he was about to burst into tears.

Of course that didn't faze Ichigo in the slightest. Almost as if he'd inherited Rai's skill to ignore all negative emotion, he replied passively, "I need to see that mark on your back." He stepped forwards and Mint moved back simultaneously, bumping into the stool and swaying precariously on one foot. Before he could recover his balance or fall the small window displaying a view of the starry night sky blew inwards, showering both the boys with shards of glass.

Ichigo looked up just in time to see what appeared to be another giant bird squeezing through the window. Perhaps if it wasn't for the blue sparks leaping off the monster's wings and the burning smell it left in the air then Ichigo would have wondered why these aliens couldn't be more original. Still unsure whether it was safe to transform in front of Mint or not, Ichigo waited until the thing emitted a high-pitched caw and shot those blue sparks at the wall, burning a large black patch into it before making up his mind.

He had to get them out of there. The room was barely big enough for two people, let alone two people crushed against the wall opposite to a giant thunder bird whose one goal in life was to kill them both. Grabbing Mint's arm, Ichigo dragged him to his feet and shoved him in the direction of the door. "Go, run!"

Stumbling away a few paces, Mint grabbed into Ichigo's wrist, practically pulling him to the floor. "No! What about—" He was cut off as Ichigo wrenched his arm away, barely saving it from getting fried by the beast. Falling forwards to his knees, Ichigo glared up at Mint, willing him to leave. Instead he stood by the door, one hand on the knob, looking torn.

Ichigo cried out as the bird swatted him across the room with one wing. He felt numb as he sank to the floor after inflicting a shallow dent in the purple-tinted white wall. When he tried to move he was horrified to find that he could not, even his mouth wouldn't work. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the bird approaching, though Mint was completely out of sight. Great, he was going to be the one to die first. Why, he wondered, hadn't he just given the boy the benefit of the doubt? Then he would be safe somewhere with Momo and Mint would be the only one to get killed by this monster.

But so far the monsters seemed to be targeting only Mews, so why would they be here if he wasn't... Powerful talons closed around Ichigo's body and he winced, realizing with a start that he could move again. Masha had to be close; Ryou seemed to have programmed that thing to be the perfect stalker, which was at least as useful as it was creepy. The scientist girl's words came to mind, the ones she'd spoken when he first transformed. "Masha! Activate Mew Mint transformaah!" He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth against the pain jolting through his body. No longer could he tell if he was being electrocuted or just crushed, either way it hurt like hell.

This facade was pointless, he realized. Putting himself in mortal danger was pointless; it was time to transform. But when he went to try, he couldn't. Perhaps it was the lack of concentration the pain was causing or the fact that he'd been paralyzed again, but did it really matter how it happened? Dead was dead. Of course, the last time he'd been attacked a similar situation had occurred. So maybe...

There was a deafening pop and the bird flew into the mirror across the room from the door, cracking the glass and tearing its claws down Ichigo's body before being torn free. He was bleeding a lot, he realized as he rolled onto his side and sat up, but it must have been the bird's electrical current or something of the sort that kept him from moving. Now he closed his eyes and thought of Mew Ichigo. A moment later he was sitting in Mint's dressing room, bleeding heavily and wearing a pink dress. Calling forth his weapon he stood and framed the bird through it.

"For your evil actions, I will make you pay! Ribbon Strawberry Check!"

"Ribbon Mint Echo!"

Two blasts of light, one pink and the other blue, smashed into the bird, cracking the mirror further and reducing the best to a little bird and another jellyfish-like parasite. Taking a deep breath of relief, Ichigo turned to face Mint. He staggered forwards, hurt worse than he thought, before collapsing to his knees. Mint gasped in horror and dropped to his knees in front of the pink Mew.

It was far more horrible than Ichigo ever could have anticipated. Not his injuries, but Mint's being a Mew. It had been expected that upon transforming Mint would be wearing a dress, but not a dress like _this_. It was strapless, blue and short, hardly mid-thigh length. Along with the dress Mint was wearing a pair of blue gloves and matching boots. The bands around his arms, neck and leg were the same color as his dress, rimmed with a darker shade of blue. As opposed to cat ears, Mint had a pair of wings and a feathery tail. The transformation had changed his hair color to a dark blue, making him just as different from normal as Ichigo was.

"You look terrible," He said softly, gently running his fingers the length of one of the long, bloody scratches down Ichigo's side.

"You look worse," He grunted. "Change back now. Just think about looking normal."

Mint hesitated, though he did as he was instructed as soon as Ichigo had returned to his ordinary, completely human appearance. Once again, being back to normal hurt worse than being a Mew did. If he'd felt this badly before, Ichigo thought, he didn't think he would have been able to stand up. Which was probably the point. Mint, on the other hand, looked fine. He might have a couple little cuts or bruises, at the most.

Wincing at Mint's touch, because now it _hurt_, Ichigo looked up to glare at him. He was surprised by how close Mint's face was to him now, and even more when he felt the bird Mew's lips touch his own. "Thank you," He had the time to whisper before Ichigo could recover from his shock and beat him to a pulp.

But that never happened because giggling at the door caught their attention and Ichigo looked up, absolutely mortified, to find Momo standing there. "I knew you'd be here!"

_Note: The song is by this Chante chick. I forget her first name. Stuffy told me to make it White And Nerdy but then I was like "Hm. No one would actually willingly do a ballet type dance to that. I would so totally get flamed for it." So I changed it. Coz I'm so easily manipulatred by society like that. ;-; -cutswrists-_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Foreword  
**Sorry it took so long to write this. I wasn't sure what should happen after the last chapter, and during Novemeber I was working on NaNoWriMo. Hopefully chapter 7 won't take too long to write, but I'm not sure what's gonna happen then either. Ideas? xP_

**(the sixth chapter)**

While he hasn't spoken to Momo since the night at the ballet, Ichigo's answering machine had been filled up once again, this time from messages from Mint. He had no idea how the other boy had gotten his phone number, because there was no way in hell that Ichigo would give it out to him willingly.

To get away from the ringing phone, which he expected to start as early on Monday as it had on the weekend, he'd grabbed his wallet and headed out for breakfast while the sun was still low in the sky and only a handful of restaurants would actually be open. He considered Ryou's Café of Gay for a moment, but hastily shoved the thought from his head. He'd received a countdown every day since that one with the fire bird and Rai, and knew already that today was day three.

At last he settled on a fast food joint that nearly made him gag the second he set foot inside. Manning the register was a toothpick. Not literally, of course, but it was the skinniest boy Ichigo had seen in his life. It wasn't that creepy, anorexia-skinny either, but a lanky, awkward type that made the boy look like he'd been stretched out.

There did not appear to be anyone else in the restaurant but them, though the register boy didn't even notice Ichigo come in. Upon closer inspection, he appeared to be asleep. Pale locks of green hung lazily over his eyes, closed behind thick gold wire-framed glasses. "Hey," Hissed Ichigo, quiet but insistent. The boy yelped, eyes snapping opened. He shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose and smiled nervously down at Ichigo.

"Mmmh? Cnetkyorder?" The boy mumbled in a completely senseless mix of anxiety and fatigue.

"What?"

The boy's face flushed. "I- I'm really sorry, sir. I- I asked if I could take your order... maybe... you know... Because that's what I do... In this restaurant... Take orders. So if maybe you want something... you should... ask... me."

"No shit, Sherlock."

Ichigo looked up to find that another boy was standing beside him. He was big, well-muscled and rather intimidating. And the register boy was definitely intimidated. He choked out a nervous laugh at the bigger boy's words and greeted him in a small, high-pitched voice.

The boy laughed and the small one trembled with something far deeper than fear. Something like terror. Meanwhile Ichigo stood between them, feeling more awkward than ever. Okay, maybe not ever; that scene with him and Mint that Momo walked in on was the winner in that category.

Deciding he'd had enough of this, Ichigo piped up, "I want a muffin, please."

"What kind of muffin?" Asked the boy, his expression a mixture of relief, confusion and apprehension. He looked like the kind of person who would one day crack and go on a murderous rampage.

But that was one day. Now he jumped like a cornered animal when the bigger boy spoke again, still laughing at the smaller one. Ichigo wondered if they were friends or enemies. In a way they seemed a little like a master and a slave; bully and victim. "Just get the kid a damn muffin," was what he said.

Nodding enthusiastically, or maybe just trying to hide the fact that he was shaking violently, the boy said, "Okay! One damn muffin coming right up! I mean just muffin. A muffin. Coming. Right up." He stood there shaking for a moment, then realized that he was supposed to be getting this muffin when Ichigo raised his eyebrows expectantly. The toothpick of a boy leapt into action, practically diving for the case in which an assortment of muffins were shelved. He grabbed a glove, pulled it onto his hand and ripped out a blueberry one, slamming it down onto the counter. "Is that all?"

"I'm allergic to blueberries," Ichigo said, eyeing the muffin as if the skinny boy had just planted a cockroach in front of him. Looking up through his eyelashes, Ichigo shrugged sadly, forcing himself to keep a straight face as he saw his elder begin to hyperventilate. Beside him, the bigger boy was throwing a fit of laughter, pounding his huge fists against the counter. "Just kidding," He added when he realized that the boy was beginning to pale from the lack of oxygen.

Smiling weakly, the boy pushed a few buttons on the register then choked out the price breathlessly. Ichigo dug through his pockets and handed over two fistfuls of spare change, paperclips, rubber bands and lint. "Keep the change," he instructed as he took his muffin, having no desire to stay with these boys any longer.

"Say bye to the kid, Ret-chan," said the bigger boy, watching Ichigo with a wolfish grin.

Though the cat-boy could not possibly care any less that this 'Ret-chan' guy had forgotten to tell him goodbye, it clearly bothered the optically challenged boy greatly. "Oh! Goodbye um... Goodbye, sir! Thank you!" He exclaimed, waving his arm as if Ichigo could possibly miss him in the nearly deserted café. Returning the gesture with a tight smile and curt wave, Ichigo wondered why he kept meeting such weird people lately.

Arriving at school early, Ichigo sat down on the stairs that ran up to the doors and watched people arrive. He got a couple glances, but no one really seemed to care that he was sitting there. That is, until he saw _her_. She was obviously trying to stand out; why would she come, dressed in leather, on a motorcycle and with a cigarette between her lips? It wasn't even lit and she made no attempt to fix this, even after she slid off her vehicle and ran her fingers through her platinum hair which was, amazingly, in decent condition.

Even before she pulled off her sunglasses, Ichigo knew who she was. His heart raced and he reminded himself that she couldn't possibly be here for him; he still had three days left! But it didn't matter, because there was no way he was risking letting Ryou Shirogane see him. Standing calmly, he adjusted his backpack on his shoulder and walked casually up the stairs, hoping that with his uniform on even the genius girl wouldn't be able to recognize him from behind.

As soon as he got inside the building, though, Ichigo couldn't help himself anymore. He tore off down the hall, desperate to put as much distance between himself and Ryou as possible. Two steps after he'd gotten up to speed, however, he crashed.

Someone screamed, a cell phone went flying across the floor and Ichigo's fall was broken by none other than Rai. The blonde's headphones slipped back off his head and hit the linoleum hard. The source of the music must have hit hard, too, as the noise ceased abruptly upon contact with the floor.

"Morning Ichigo-kun!" Piped Rai brightly, as if cracking his skull was not painful in the least. "What's up?"

Rolling off of Rai, Ichigo got quickly to his feet and glanced around the hallway, almost expecting Ryou to be right there watching him. "My stalker's out to get me."

"Ryou-tan?" Asked Rai as he sat up, as if his friend had more than one stalker.

"Yah, that one. I have to..." His voice trailed off as he took in Rai's words. "Wait, you _know_ her?"

He shrugged. "She's a friend of a friend. She wanted to meet me here to talk about something. I'm skipping and going to her café with her. Do you want to come?"

Jump off a bridge, eat a bowl of worms, announce to the entire school that he loved Momo, and make out with Mint were all things that Ichigo would have rather done than go anywhere, let alone the Café of Gay, with Ryou. Well, maybe not that last one. Even so, it seemed more likely that Ryou wouldn't kill him if Rai was around. "Okay, sure," replied Ichigo, not sounding very sure at all.

Right on cue, a manicured hand landed on his shoulder. "Hey there, Rai-kun, Momomiya-kun," she said, he greeting innocent enough, but Ichigo didn't buy it for a second. Whirling around he looked up and glared daggers at her, hoping she got the message to back off.

Gathering up his cell phone and music-playing paraphernalia then hopping to his feet, Rai flicked Ichigo's arm and ignored the dirty look he received in return. "Is it okay if he comes, too?"

Ryou seemed just as surprised to discover that Rai knew Ichigo as Ichigo had been when he found that his friend knew her. "You're friends?" She sounded almost annoyed, as if she should have known this, though frankly it would be mildly creepy if she did.

"Yep," Rai replied brightly, grabbing Ichigo's arm in one hand and Ryou's in the other as he proceeded down the hallway in the direction Ichigo had come running from. "He calls you his stalker."

At this, Ichigo felt his face flush, though it seemed to amuse Ryou. At least someone was having fun, he thought bitterly. Sobering, a thoughtful look crossed the scientist's face. "I brought my motorcycle, so it's going to be a tight fit. I'm sure you'll be okay," she said, giving Ichigo no space to protest, knowing he'd take any chance he got.

Turns out, it was a tight fit. Ichigo, who wanted to be as far from Ryou as possible, found himself nearly falling off the back of the vehicle. As the wind ripped past them he found himself clinging with all his might to Rai, practically suffocating the poor boy who, unfortunately, still had enough breath to whoop frequently about how cool riding a motorcycle was. Half his excitement probably came from the fact that he was holding onto Ryou, which Ichigo wouldn't have minded doing either if it wasn't for the fact that he loathed that girl with every fibre of his being.

No one spoke, other than Rai, as the wind carried away all their words before they could reach even the speaker's ears. Eventually Ichigo grew used to his position and was disappointed when they finally came to a stop outside the sickeningly pink café. He brightened when he noticed the brown haired girl standing outside, waiting for them. Before they'd even come to a complete stop, Ichigo was half-falling off the motorcycle to get away from Ryou.

"Momomiya-san," She said, bowing formally in greeting. He skidded to a stop, a little embarrassed, but bowed back. Behind him, Ryou laughed as she slid off the vehicle and he heard her shoes crunch against the gravel parking lot. "I see Ryou-chan has finally brought you back."

"She had help," He grunted, straightening and turning to look at the others. Rai didn't seem to have noticed the brown haired girl, too busy staring at Ryou because for some reason he still hadn't realized that she was the devil incarnate. Out of the corner of his eye he must have caught Ichigo looking at him, because he glanced their way.

At the sight of the other girl he jumped and scurried over, as if he hadn't seen her in years. "Keiichiro!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms around her. Ichigo nearly fell backwards in an attempt to dodge his friend as he came flying past to do this.

As the two of them parted, Ichigo couldn't help but notice that the smile on Keiichiro's face was a sad one. Glancing over his shoulder at Ryou, who was walking towards them with an unreadable expression, he had to wonder if they were up to something.

"Let's go inside, boys. Keiichiro-chan'll get you something to eat," Ryou instructed, nudging Rai when she reached him. His face reddened slightly, though Ryou was too busy sweeping past the boys into the café after Keiichiro to notice.

Ichigo grabbed Rai's arm before his friend could follow her, too worried about what the evil genius might be plotting to let his friend go in there as naive as he was now. "Stop looking at her like that! She's evil, you can't trust her!"

"You're just jealous," Laughed Rai, immune as ever to Ichigo's panic. Tugging his arm out of the redhead's grip, he slipped after Ryou into the café and Ichigo knew he had no choice but to follow, not if he wanted to protect Rai from whatever those girls had waiting in store for him. He reasoned that maybe he was being a little bit paranoid, but there had to be _something_ to be said for trusting your instincts, especially if you were part animal, right?

They sat down around one of the tables in the empty café while Keiichiro left them for the kitchen. Now that he was seated in the room, Ichigo saw that it was even worse than he'd thought at first. The mural on the vaulted ceiling was of rainbows, birds, clouds and other such painfully feminine things. The rest of the building was mostly pink, including the linoleum flooring. Somehow Ichigo managed to sit down with Rai in a booth opposite from Ryou without throwing up his muffin.

Leaning back in his pink vinyl seat in an attempt to look cool, Rai purred, "What did you want to talk to me about, Ryou-chan?" Resisting the urge to kill his friend, Ichigo looked around the café for possible escape routes. Preferably ones that he could easily drag a struggling Rai out of in case of an emergency.

Ryou licked her lips, almost reluctantly, and turned her eyes over to Ichigo. "I need you to help me save the world," she said at last to Rai, as if she'd made up her mind that she could not convince Ichigo to be competent, which the Mew considered to be a small victory, but at the same time what she was implying horrified him. She couldn't _possibly_...

"Save the world?" Echoed Rai, intrigued.

She nodded. "There are aliens attacking Earth, you saw one yourself. Do you remember the fire bird that attacked your school last week? That was an animal infected with an alien parasite. We believe that the real culprits behind this are still in hiding, but even without coming in direct contact with them our planet is in danger. We were testing a variety of ways to exterminate these parasites when we made a mistake and fused five people with the DNA of endangered species. Since then we've discovered that these people are likely the best method of getting rid of the aliens." To Ichigo it didn't even look like Rai was paying attention to Ryou's words, but was instead gazing at her low-cut shirt, though she clearly wasn't noticing. "Unfortunately these people have turned out to be hard to locate, and the ones we have are less than willing to help me. I need someone I can trust."

"Like me?"

She smiled wolfishly, as if she was planning on having Keiichiro cook him. "Exactly like you," she cooed. "All you have to do is come down to the lab and we'll fuse you with some DNA just like the others. Could you do that for me?"

Like that wasn't already obvious; it was written all over his face that Rai would go to hell and back for her. All over Ichigo's face, however, was written sheer panic. He watched, mortified, as Rai nodded his head in reply. "No, Rai just listen to me!" Yelped Ichigo, deciding he had to do something as Ryou and Rai slid out of the booth. "She's just a manipulative bitch! You don't want this, I swear you will regret it more than anything!"

Laughing as usual, the blond boy just said, "If you wanted her, you had your chance. Don't be jealous."

"It's flattering that you two are fighting over me," Ryou said, clearly embarrassed by their argument, but there was also a trace of annoyance. Likely at being called a bitch, but there was no way in hell Ichigo was ever going to take it back. In fact, there were several words that he could add to that. "But could you hold it for a bit?"

"Don't act stupid!" Snapped Ichigo, turning on Ryou. "I'm not going to let you ruin his life, too!"

Rolling her eyes, Ryou took Rai's hand and for a moment he looked like he might faint, which would have been convenient, since if he transformed Ichigo was pretty sure he'd win a fight with the genius. "What are you talking about, Momomiya-san?" She asked, irritated. "If you're going to be delusional, do it outside of my café."

"Rai-kun," Ichigo said, annoyed by how desperate he sounded, though he didn't know what else he could do, how he could possibly explain to Rai how horrible the thing Ryou was about to do to him was. He wished he could just transform and punch the damn girl's lights out. But if he transformed, he realized, that was all he'd need to do to show Rai what Ryou's true intentions were. "You know those 'less than willing' slacker heroes she was talking about? The ones you're supposed to find? You want to know what they look like?"

"Ichigo-kun, maybe you should see a psychiatrist," Rai suggested, his happy disposition fading into something like fear.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Ichigo let himself change. The feeling was starting to get familiar now, the way he felt light and warm for a moment, and then returned to reality as if nothing had happened, only as soon as he opened his eyes it was clear that something had. But this time he didn't open his eyes. He already knew what he looked like and did not want to see the expression on Rai's face when he saw the girl who, as he'd said, would be pretty hot if she wasn't so flat. "This is you if you go anywhere with that monster."

Ryou scoffed, clearly unfazed, though Ichigo didn't dare look. "Come on, I'm not that bad."


End file.
